Children Of Nen
Disclaimer: I own nothing of Tolkiens. You get the point. I mean why on earth would I own this stuff?! I'm 13 and a complete bookworm! Why on earth would I own Tolkien's stuff?...........................
AN/ Hey people! Thanks for the reviews! Thanks to my beta Ral! Here goes…
Chapter Three: On the brink of destruction
Nendil felt so many emotions running through him he didn't know what to do.
After Cellin had finished crying she told him that mother was troubled at him not coming home.
It had felt so good to finally tell some one about her lost love. Deep inside her she knew she had wanted so bad to tell not only her brother but also her confident, Elladan.
Cellin did not want to go home and face her mother with red eyes and a tear stained face, not to mention her soaking wet clothes and the dagger. But neither did Cellin want to return to her friends. She was embarrassed and afraid. She did not want to face them after how she had acted.
Nendil told her not to worry. "They are our friends Cellin. You should not worry about such things. I will tell mother you are staying later. Be careful sister."
Cellin sighed and finally decided to rejoin her friends in desperate hope they would not ask questions. She wanted to tell Elladan about Sírdhim. She wanted to tell some one else besides her brother. If he ever left her she wanted some one else to know.
When she broke through the trees she found that Adandil had left. Elrohir was sitting back on the rock with Sildathar and Elladan was lying out in the sun, his chest bear, trying to dry himself.
When she came into the clearing Sildathar was the first to scrutinize her. His eyes traveled over her face and eyes, noting the sorrow that was evident still. As his eyes roamed over her she refused to look at him.
Elladan smiled at her warmly and patted the ground next to him, offering her a seat.
Cellin felt a rush of relief wash over her. Elladan was whom she talked to the most. His comfortable stance and non threatening attitude, along with his devoted attention, made him so easy for her to talk to.
She sat next to him as he braced himself up on his elbows. They were just out of hearing range from the others. "You know Cellin, The sky is like a person in so many ways." She looked upward with a smile. "How so Elladan?"
He grinned and continued. "Well it is forever changing and full wonder. Who knows what the sky will look like a year from this very moment? Sometimes the sky is filled with sunshine and laughter. At other times it is grey and forlorn. And sometimes Mellon the sky is undecided and unpredictable." (Friend)
Cellin nodded and looked at him. He was speaking of her.
"No matter what the sky is like we find joy in it. Rain brings us water and helps things to grow. Sunshine brings life and also helps things to grow. We accept the sky."
She couldn't help the few tears that slid down her face. She looked back away from his eyes and up to the blue cloudy sky. "Thank you Elladan." She breathed, almost unheard, but he did hear her.
"We will always be here for you Mellon; no questions asked."
She sighed and fell down into the grass. Looking over at him, she smiled. Leaning forward she gave him a small butterfly kiss on the cheek. To her amazement he blushed and fell back down on the grass besides her.
"Elladan?"
He looked over at her with a smile. His smile faded when he saw her face.
"What's wrong Cellin?"
She shook her head and said softly, "I need to tell you something. I want to tell you something."
Elrohir had watched them. He watched the small and innocent kiss and he could barely make out what Elladan had said to Cellin. He felt a bit jealous as he watched them.
Elladan sat up and said something to her. His face was blank but Elrohir saw the worry in his eyes. Was she telling him what she had told Nendil, he wondered. Elladan shook his head and Elrohir found himself watching his brother shed a few tears.
Cellin sat up next to him and Elrohir saw that she was crying. She handed Elladan the Dagger and he looked at it with reverence. Cellin started to say something but a small sob was all that left her mouth. Elrohir watched on as Elladan comforted her and deep inside he felt that he should have been the one to do that.
Cellin painfully retold the story to Elladan. She had thought her tears were over after she had told it to Nendil but here she was, crying again. He had listened and accepted. He offered her comfort and finally when she was done and had shone him the dagger she found herself saying, "I will find him one day Elladan. I swear to Manwe I will find him."
He nodded but she saw the doubt in his eyes. The emotion that had flooded through her had left her tired and weak. She lay back down in the grass and closed her eyes. "Don't tell anyone Elladan."
He nodded and lay down on his side, facing her, watching her. "What of Elrohir?"
She let that thought pass through her mind and squeezed her eyes shut. "You may tell him if you wish but please do not…" She was cut off.
"Your secret remains safe with me Cellin. You must know though…He cares for you deeply."
She opened her eyes and let a sad smile cross her lips. "I know. I can not repay that affection though. As you know my heart lies with another."
Elladan did know and he glanced at his brother who was watching him intently. It would break his heart to hear the story but Elladan knew that if he told Elrohir maybe Elrohir would stop wishing for Cellin. He knew how much pain his brother would go through when he heard the story though. He so wanted to avoid that pain.
In the back of his mind Elladan knew the chances of this Sírdhim being found were slim. But he also knew that if Cellin was to look for him he would not hesitate to help her.
Suddenly He felt wetness on his arm. When he looked down he saw a raindrop running off his skin. When he looked up at the sky he saw a large grey cloud and several more drops fell on his cheek.
He called out to Elrohir and rose from where he was sitting. After he helped Cellin up, he hugged her. "Be careful on the way home and always know that if you need some one to speak with I am always here for you."
She smiled and gave him one more kiss on the cheek. "Thank you."
She ran to Sildathar as the rain suddenly broke through the clouds and poured over her hot skin. Steam rose from the river as the cold rain hit the hot surface and she also saw steam come off of Sildathar's and Elrohir's tunic.
She smiled at Elrohir and also gave him a small kiss on the cheek. "I shall see you soon Mellon."
He nodded and went to Elladan. Cellin was troubled at the fact that he did not say anything to her. Was he mad at her for something?
Sildathar took a hold on her arm and she turned around. "We must hurry Cellin. The sky churns and soon we shall be at the mercy of the rain."
She nodded. "Farewell Elrohir! Farewell Elladan! I shall see you soon."
They both smiled and gave her a nod before hurrying off into the forest.
Cellin felt the pressure of Sildathar's hand on her arm as he led the way back to the house. The rain was pouring down so hard that she could barely see. Her mind was racing like the rain and she fought hard to try and avoid the gathering puddles in the mud. The rain seeped through her hair to her scalp and she shivered as it drenched her clothes.
Sildathar pulled her along till they reached the house. Nendil was waiting by the door and she could see the discomfort in his eyes.
As she stepped onto the slight porch he grabbed her arm and pulled her along inside. Her heart was still thumping as she entered the serene, not to mention dry, house. She stopped short and pulled away from his arm.
"What's wrong Nendil?
He just shook his head and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders.
"I have to go to the palace. Lord Elrond requests my presence. A messenger came while you were at the river."
She nodded and went up the stairs on the right and up to her room. The pale green walls were a comfort to her eyes. Her soft warm bed in the right corner had a soft blue comforter on it and underneath she knew there were light yellow sheets. Her ceiling was the color of a midnight sky and the wooden floor was white oak. There was a wooden desk in the left corner and a large purple throw rung in the center. On the right wall of Cellin's room, right above the bed, hung a painting of an elvish woman with dark hair. Her arms were spread out wide to the sun and butterflies swarmed around her. He dress flowed from morning colors, yellow, white, light blue, to evening colors, red, purple, pink, orange, dark blue and black.
She quickly shut the door behind her and stripped herself of her soaking wet clothing. She, freezing cold, ran over to the closet and pulled out warm white cotton pants. She slid them over her still chilly and somewhat wet legs and grabbed a fawn colored peasant blouse.
After she had dressed she slid a comb through her hair and quickly braided it. When she was finished she slipped on white slippers and went downstairs. Her mother had set a large wooden bowl down on their big table and placed three plates around it. Cellin peered over the rim of the bowl with anticipation. she smiled as she spied the warm stew inside. It was steaming hot and she could smell the delicious food.
She reached to dip her finger in and felt a firm tap on her hand. He mother grinned at her and Cellin saw that her mother had tapped her hand with the wooden spoon.
"You have not changed in one thing Cellin music water; you are still that spunky little girl who could not wait!"
She shared a warm laugh with her mother and then looked at her longingly.
"Mother? May I please join Father and Nendil at the palace?"
"Why would you want to do that?" asked her mother knowingly.
Just then Sildathar came into the room with a dry tunic and leggings on. He nodded to Cellin and Faerchithiel, her mother.
Cellin nodded back to him and then turned to her mother once again.
"Mother, please, I really must go!"
Faerchithiel looked at her daughter oddly before a small smile lit her face.
"I believe Lord Elrond will have important things to do. It would be awfully hard for him to tend to the sick elf you and Nendil found. Perhaps you might hel…"
Cellin cut her mother of with a big hug and a thank you. With a spin on her heels Cellin raced to the door and grabbed her violet cloak. She slid on her black boots and grabbed two small pairing knives from the wall and tucked them into her knee high boots. After fastening the cloak over her shoulder and placing the hood gently over her head, the cowl brimming right over her eyes.
"Be safe Cellin and don't go through the forest!" shouted her mother as the door slammed behind Cellin.
With a sigh Faerchithiel removed another plate and silver cup from the table.
Cellin ran to the east side of the cottage and smiled as she spied the stable standing solid in the drenching rain. She imagined the warm hay and orange lantern light, the sweet smell of the horses. She smiled and quickly made her way to the stable. After sliding through the big wooden doors and fastening the latch behind her so the wind wouldn't blow them open, she made her way to the last stall on the right.
In the stall stood a black stallion with a grey mane and tail, He snorted at her approach and when she leaned over the stall door and petted him on the muzzle he whinnied and stomped his front hoofs. Cellin smiled and said softly,
"Would you like to carry me to the palace boy? I need a swift horse that will not stumble in the mud. I think you could manage don't you?"
The horse snorted as if to say, "Just try me elfling! I can handle anything you throw my way!"
Cellin giggled at his impatience and then opened the stall door, quickly jumping out of the way. The stallion reeled out of the stall and spun in a short circle, neighing and rising up on his back hoofs. He snorted and pranced over to Cellin.
Cellin, in one swift movement, mounted the horse and nudged him with her knees to the stable door. She griped his bare sides tightly with her knees and held on to his mane with her fists. He kicked out with his front feet and knocked the latch out of place. In a swift trot he went through the doors and spun around to face them.
Cellin jumped off of him and shut the doors in place, closing off all light to the dark stable inside. She then turned and jumped back on the horse.
"Noro Lim Lórdhín! Bring me to the palace! Hurry before the rain drenches us to the skin!"
The black stallion whinnied and jumped into a canter. His feet were sure and steady. Cellin held on tightly as the horse picked his way through trails and passages, leading them safely through the trees and fallen branches. He finally slowed to a trot and then, a sudden stop.
Cellin held on as she lurched forward and caught herself just in time. Before she could utter a complaint she saw exactly why he had stopped. Lightning cracked and lit up the sky, sending white-blue crisscrosses over the black and grey clouds. The horse whinnied franticly as a party of orcs immerged through the trees, the lightning reflecting off of their armor and glinting in their eyes.
Cellin gasped and terror griped her heart. Looking back on it she would have never come out alive if it weren't for Lórdhín. She froze in terror and grimaced at their evil stares. Yet nothing was more frightening then when the lightning vanished and she was left alone in the dark, in the pouring rain, with pure malice.
Lórdhín reared and kicked his front feet out in anger. Cellin heard them contact with the armor of and orc. After that her senses dulled and she could only remember the speed. Lórdhín leaped over the top of another orc and galloped off, his grey mane and tail looking silver in the wet light. Cellin closed her eyes and braced herself for a sharp pain, yet it never came. She expected them to charge after her and drag her off her horse. Although she could not see behind her she dreaded what she would if she could.
When Lórdhín reached the gates to the city Cellin almost fell off him in pure shock. She was alive.
Quickly she dismounted and called out to the guards. They let her in quickly and the she, leading her horse to the stable hand, which quickly placed a sliver rope around his neck and led him inside the stable, ran for the palace. She charged up the stairs in blind speed and finally burst into the palace itself.
After safely inside she took a deep breath and shed her violet cloak, handing it to a servant nearby. Surprisingly the cloak had kept her quite dry. She walked swiftly down the many hallways untill she ran into Nendil and the Peredhil twins. All three of them gasped at the sight of her.
"Cellin! Tell me you did not ride here in the dark during a storm?"
She closed her eyes tightly and the said slowly,
"Yes I did."
She opened her eyes and the three ellon were quiet at the fear in them.
"There are orc in the forest, right outside the borders. If not for Lórdhín I would not be here in one piece."
The gravity of her statement set in. Her brother went to her and hugged her tightly. She pulled away from him and said,
"We must inform Lord Elrond that there are many and they are well armed. They should be here by morning."
Nendil clenched his fists and said harshly,
"And they shall meet my sword!"
Elrohir nodded and Elladan looked at Cellin with concern. She gave him a soft smile before saying,
"Avofaro an brestad; as telitha allen Muindor"
(Don't look for trouble; it will come to you Brother.)
Nendil nodded to her and together the four friends made their way to the war room.